The Pursuit Zone

Charles Scott is leading a life of family adventure. In 2009 he and his 8-year-old son Sho cycled 2500 miles across Japan. In 2011, his 4-year-old daughter Saya joined them to cycle the circumference of Iceland. And in 2012 the three cycled Germany, Switzerland, France and England over 42 days. This summer the family set off again to re-trace the 3,200-mile Lewis & Clark Trail. They will drive the first 1,500 miles in 2 weeks, then cycle the next 1,700 miles in 6 weeks over the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Pacific Ocean. You can read about their adventure at familyadventureguy.blogspot.com. Charles Scott, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Cycling 4,500 miles across the USA was the easy part of Rob Greenfield's 19-state adventure. So what was the hard part? How about doing it using electricity only from renewable energy, consuming water only from natural sources, and eating only locally grown organic food – a challenging off-the-grid adventure. The ride was done to inspire Americans to live a healthier and happier lifestyle for themselves and for the planet and you can learn more about it at GreenfieldAdventures.org. Rob Greenfield, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

After a decade of being distracted by a career, a relationship, and home ownership; Loretta Henderson decided to stop dreaming about adventure and to start living it. She left Alaska at age 36 to begin cycling around the world. Starting in the United Kingdom, she left the bike shop on a Thorn Raven without a map and without any cycling experience. Four years later she has pedaled across 30 countries on 5 continents and records her adventures at www.skalatitude.com. Loretta Henderson welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Ryan Wichelns and Gabe Messercola have spent the last half-decade in the Adirondacks. They have been fortunate to have this park in their backyard and have gained an appreciation for the wilderness through backpacking and climbing. To raise awareness and support for Big City Mountaineers, an urban youth outdoor mentoring organization, Ryan and Gabe spent 20 days this summer traversing the Adirondack Park from South to North, blue line to blue line, a 205-mile adventure of cycling, canoeing, and hiking. You can check out their adventure at adirondacktraverse.org. Ryan Wichelns and Gabe Messercola welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

My next guest found himself at a crossroads after leaving his corporate job and splitting up with his wife. Instead of taking the path of the stereotypical midlife crisis, he opted for the path less traveled and decided to take a walk. Not just any walk, a really long walk – a 1305-mile walk across Turkey. For 20 years, Matt Krause had something bigger in mind and this walk would be the first part of that bigger thing. Check out Matt's journey at heathenpilgrim.com or mattkrause.com. Matt Krause, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

My next guest is Jordan Harvey. Jordan studied in Havana, Cuba and spent more than three years traveling and living in South America. While in Chile, he and his wife guided in Patagonia and throughout the country while building their company – Knowmad Adventures – a trip operator and travel consultancy specializing in South American travel. He says starting and running an international travel business is the most challenging adventure of them all. Jordan Harvey welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

At an early age Steve Knowlton knew he would run across America. He completed his first marathon at age 13. Since then he has completed 45 additional marathons and 7 ultra-marathons. He completed his cross-country run in 2010 when he ran from Seattle Washington to Key Largo Florida. A 3,717 mile run in 100 days to raise awareness for Chrohn's disease. In 2013 Steve set off on a second cross-country run, attempting to break the world speed record by running from San Francisco to New York City in 45 days to raise awareness for Asperger's syndrome. Steve Knowlton, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

After college graduation my next guest jumped around from Central America to a Northern California Buddhist monastery to a year of law school before dropping out. He then spent 8 years as Executive Director at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center – an environmental education center and farm in Connecticut. In 2010 he founded Urban Adamah, an urban produce farm on an acre of land in Berkeley, California that has quickly grown into a thriving environmental education center and gathering place for the Bay Area Jewish community. Adam Berman, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

At the beginning 2010, my next guest left her life as an Occupational Therapist in the United States and found herself as a lonely housewife in Lima, Peru. But it didn't take long to overcome the fear of a foreign city, catcalling men, and wild street dogs to become a marathon runner, a cook, an English teacher, and a Social-Media Marketing Manager. Danielle Krautmann (DanielleLParker [at] gmail [dot] com), welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

After a job layoff, my next guest avoided the temptation to rush back to work and used the opportunity to thru-hike the Appalachian trail, south to north, over 24 weeks from May to October of 2012. He managed to survive encounters with ticks, mice, snakes, feral ponies, and a storm that could have killed him. Aaron Hushagen, or Hoosh as he was known on the trail, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.